Hotel At The Lafayette

This was the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in, the ambience was on point and the rooms were very relaxing. We booked 2 junior suites which exceeded our expectations. The staff is very hospitable. We will definitely be returning to this hotel.

I have hosted almost every major life event at one of the rooms at the Lafayette as well as treated our entire wedding party to stay here during our wedding weekend.
I love the way every part of this hotel looks, the lobby, elevators, stores and restaurants that are inside. everything!
We stayed in the «Lafayette Suite,» because the two other bridal suites had been booked, but I am glad for it! The suite was beyond gorgeous with a nice view of Lafayette Square. The bathroom situation was also phenomenal.
We heard no complaints from any of our wedding party about their rooms, mostly just positive raves. I saw some of their suites and standard rooms and they were all very big and well decorated/​cleaned.
I personally love the style of this hotel and I like a majority of the staff I have interacted with here. There were a lot of details to our wedding weekend and the women at the front desk made me feel confident that all of our gift bags would get out to the right people (& I believe they did!).
The housekeeping staff is so lovely. Whoever cleaned our room found a forgotten serving platter and brought it down to the front desk staff so that we could pick it up after it had been left behind.
The continental breakfast is included and served in Pan Am. I don’t really love it, but not a biggie to me at all. I am a really healthy person, so it was hard to find things I wanted to eat.
I’m sure I could think of things I didn’t like if I really tried, but overall, I really do love the Lafayette & hope it stays around long enough for our vow renewals!

I was invited into one of the apartments for a Christmas party. I loved the space and set up in the apartment. The floors were dark oak just gorgeous. The kitchen area has a lovely island for preparing meals. Bathroom size very spacious and this particular room had 2 bedrooms. Again, I loved how it looked inside. I know they did a micarcle on this building because it used to be very run down. The lobby is beautiful. It has a fireplace, bar, and restaurant attached to the hotel.

Haven’t stayed here, but have attended several events here. The lobby is really stunning with all the original touches, including the mail shoot, the elevator doors, and telephone booths. It’s a great place for large events.

Didn’t stay at the hotel but attended a function there. Gorgeous Hotel! I believe it was built back in 1901 and was recently renovated. Architecture is amazing. The food at the event was delicious!

Great place to stay in downtown Buffalo. Apparently this place was closed for 30 years before being renovated about 5 years ago so it has a classic yet updated look to it. The one bedroom suites have a ton of space, and full kitchens with stainless steel appliances. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The bathrooms are also huge with an awesome shower. I’d definitely stay here again when I return to this city.

With a few tweaks, this could be a perfect hotel. It’s conveniently located downtown, the staff is friendly and responsive, and the restaurant Bourbon and Butter is amazing. The renovation of the historic hotel creates a cool old/​new vibe, but it feels like some corners were cut in the process that add up — eg, our bedroom door didn’t close quite right, the closet door handle was loose, etc. We were also missing one nightstand lamp when we arrived, and our room wasn’t cleaned between days — but the staff was very responsive to both issues, bringing up a lamp immediately and giving us free valet service when we checked out and mentioned the lack of housekeeping. We stayed in a suite, and the bedrooms were nice, but the living room was a little cold in its décor, as were the hallways. Both could stand to be made warmer and more welcoming without sacrificing historic integrity.
Bourbon and Butter is pricey but delicious, and the bar space is really fun. The free breakfast, however, was not so impressive, nor was the fancy and pricey but not tasty coffee sold in the lobby. Still, overall, we really enjoyed our stay, and I’d make Hotel Lafayette my first choice next time I’m in Buffalo.

The price seems right and it was newish and seemingly redone to join in the revitalization of downtown Buffalo, but they need to get their act together to be a competitive competent service provider.
Arrived at 10 pm on a Sunday after a long day of travel delays to find that there is no room service after 9 on Sundays and I think it is 10 on Weekdays — its tied to the bar/​restaurant on the property. And that there are no mini-​bars in the room — could have survived the night with a drink and some nuts or something — nope. And the front desk could not recommend a close-​by place to get something to eat. They said they’d give delivery recommendations — they forgot and later came to room with Domino’s and Pizza Hut coupons form the Sunday paper (?!)
Room was nicely appointed. Strange toilet chamber that only amplifies any activities in there to the entire room or possibly floor. We realized the next morning that there was only one bath towel in the room. They quickly brought more. We left the room round 10:15 am and returned at 5 pm to find that the room hadn’t been cleaned. More clean towels were thrown on the shelf in the shower (not stacked or folded) and one trash can was emptied — nothing else. As we left for dinner we asked if there was an Eco policy at the hotel that would explain the lack of room cleaning. They thought the question funny and said that they would have the room cleaned — when we returned it was cleaned.
The «Continental Breakfast» is something out of a horror story of cafeteria food. The bacon was decent. The eggs were horrifying — and definitely not made from eggs — more like an industrial dried prison/​school egg product. The bagels were giant doughy sponges. The coffee mediocre. The juice must have come from the same factory as the eggs. Coffee cake sort of stuff was greasy and tasteless. Not vaguely worth anything — especially in a city that prides itself on pretty delicious food.
Next morning we skipped the breakfast and went for the supposed good coffee roasters that were operating without any signage in the lobby. The latte was decent. The drip was similar to that at the provided breakfast. The service staff seemed to be out of a PORTLANDIA comedy sketch about earnest hipsters making coffee.
Odd too that the front desk person also operates the valet and the young woman who couldn’t recommend a local restaurant pulled up in my car after having turned the ticket in.
Just seems like they don’t have their act together. They need professional management to turn what could be a decent location into something worthwhile.

This beautiful renovated grand dame located in downtown Buffalo has a lot to offer its guests. You feel like you’ve stepped into a classic black and white movie once inside.
The entire first floor is spectacular with the original front desk (now a coffee bar) in the beautiful Art Deco lobby, a grand ballroom and two restaurants (Pan American Grill & Brewery (casual) and Bourbon & butter (upscale)). The basement restaurant (Butterwood) is also beautifully appointed. All three are independently operated.
Two floors are dedicated to the hotel while the other upper floors have apartments. Nose around and check out the banquet rooms on the upper floors. I stayed in a junior suite. The bi-​level junior suite is worth the slight upcharge as others have pointed out. My room (an interior room facing a courtyard) had an open floor plan divided by an electric fireplace with one flat screen facing a love seat and the opposite side TV facing a queen bed. The bathroom is beyond the bedroom and uses one sliding barn door to separate the bathroom from the bedroom and a second to divide the toilet from the sink and shower/​tub space. A reservation also comes with a simple breakfast (more on that below).
While the shortcomings were minor in scope, there were enough of them that they should be addressed.
1. Hallways — I hope the hotel considers repainting the hallways. The depressing institutional gray walls don’t do justice to the beautifully restored wood room doors. Perhaps it was surplus paint from the Navy…
2. Rooms — There were 4 – 5 small cosmetic issues I noticed which seemed strange given that the hotel is relatively new. Hopefully, minor maintenance shortcomings in this room were the exception not the rule.
3. Breakfast — The complimentary self-​serve breakfast includes eggs, baked goods, bacon, sausage, cereal, yogurt, coffee and juices. It’s not memorable but it will get you going and is free. Really wish that they would include metal utensils (rather than plastic) to go with the ceramic plates as well as adding ceramic coffee mugs rather than just paper to-​go coffee cups.
Despite these minor blemishes this beauty offers you a stay that is a pleasant change from the unmemorable experience provided by some other hotels. I look forward to another stay in the future.

Nice hotel right in the downtown area. I stayed here for one night because every single hotel in Buffalo was booked for some reason. And I mean literally every single one. No vacancy whatsoever. So when I entered my dates of arrival/​departure and it said vacancy, I went ahead with this reservation despite it was so expensive. The price probably went up significantly since all of other hotels were booked.
Tips:
1. Riding on the Metro Rail in the downtown area is FREE. Once the train goes undergrad, you must have a paid valid ticket with you on board.
2. Free breakfast served at 7 AM. See photos.
3. Free wifi for everyone! No password required.
4. Mandatory quiet hours after 11 PM (I think) on weekends. I had to sign an agreement upon arrival.
Not 5 stars because…
1. Upon check-​in, I was given two keys and my room number. When I went upstairs, the room assignment was so confusing because not all doors have numbers on them. And you thought the number would go in the sequence of «1, 3, 5, 7, and 9» but instead it goes something like «1, 3, 6, 10, and 9.» I circled around and around and couldn’t find my room. When I finally found my room, I heard people talking inside. I tried to swipe my card but my card didn’t work. I knocked and people opened up from the inside. I asked if they were also staying in that room and they responded yes. Apparently I was given the wrong room key and wrong room number? I went downstairs and was given a different room number.
2. You cannot lock bathroom/​shower doors. I only had a sliding door. Interesting design…
3. No deadbolt locks in my room. Isn’t this a typical hotel standard feature?
Otherwise, the hotel is clean and looks recently renovated. I would recommend it.

This is a wonderful hotel, and I thoroughly enjoyed staying here. One of my loves in life is spaces with history (a story) and nice people, and the Hotel Lafayette was both.
We stayed for one short night in January. The room was very spacious, with a comfortable bed, fire place, and beautiful spacious bathroom (with a separate shower and tub) that altogether made it almost feel more like a studio apartment than a hotel room. The décor was a fun homage to history that felt very modern, and the beautiful high ceilings also made the space feel spacious. Service at the desk and valet were quick and polite, and everything went smoothly.
I would be thrilled to (and am I sure I will) stay here again — hopefully with more time to enjoy the space (and a long bubble bath in that beautiful bathroom).

Let me start by saying I love this hotel. Absolutely beautiful interior. Decorated in an Art Deco style and very modern.
Our room consisted of a living area and a step up to an open bedroom only separated by a 2sided fireplace. It remind me of an upscale studio. The shower was huge and had a large soaking tub.
Now for the downside. We were on the 2^nd floor right above a ballroom (of 4 apparently). There was loud music until 11, which I know is not that late but if I wanted to listen to thumping bass I would have gone to a club. I called the front desk at 10:30 and was told the party ended at 11 and they did offer to move us, but seriously it’s 10:30 at night I’m not packing all our stuff up. I asked why when we checked in they didn’t say we were right above a party and ask if we were ok with that. They didn’t really have an answer. It did quiet promptly at 11 though.
We didn’t eat here however we had a drink in the basement bar. When we left we walked through the pub which was a feast for the eyes. Very manly and den like. The upscale restaurant had a great menu — wish we had gone down for a snack there.
All in all I will go back. However I will be requesting a room on an upper floor.

Went to a Christmas party in one of the ballrooms, the hors d’oeuvres were very good. There was a gourmet cheese tray with fruit, bread and crackers. The staff also walked around with prawn shrimp and many other things (I don’t remember what they were called but they were good). our dinner was delicious I had the chicken stuffed with goat cheese and my husband had the filet mignon for dessert was a rich chocolate lava cake.
A group of people from the party did reserve hotel rooms at the Lafayette My husband and I along with another couple stayed in a two bedroom suite on the third floor. The suite was very clean and spacious. There was a kitchen, breakfast bar, sitting area with flat screen TV, the first bedroom had the bathroom off the bedroom and the other bathroom was situated next to the second bedroom. In the morning there was a continental breakfast which constituted of bacon, sausage, eggs, various breads, orange juice tea and coffee. The eggs were overlooked and cold and the hot water for the tea wasn’t hot. Overall I would recommend this hotel and We definitely will be back.

I recently stayed here during a trip back to visit my family and was very pleasantly surprised too find the Hotel at the Lafayette had been completely renovated into an upscale and unique hotel and event venue.
I decided to go with the Junior Suite and the room was beautiful. Shower was huge, along with a tub. The theme was very modern but with a hint of old world feel to it. The colors were as eye-​catching at the artwork scattered around the room. They were super clean and very good sized. The bed was very comfortable, and the duel fireplace added a nice touch as well. The living area was fit with a comfy couch/​pull out bed, a desk, 2 reclining chairs and a wall mounted flat screen.
Staff was polite and helpful when checking in. The hotel also features restaurants onsite as well as several banquet halls
If you’re considering visiting Buffalo and can’t decide on a place to stay, I recommend you stay here. The prices were very reasonable, staff friendly and respectful, rooms beautiful and clean and the food… oh the FOOD from PanAmerican Grill, Mike A’s and Butterwoods. well, thats a review all in itself. However I will say the desert at PanAmerican Grill was absolutely devine.

The rooms are gorgeous but know that this is an EVENT venue. Stayed here on a Sunday night and even though I asked for a quiet room, I was give a room over the ballroom on the day of a wedding celebration. I was subjected to loud music until midnight, and then loud, drunk wedding guests who were in and out of rooms slamming doors, until 2:00 am. Never again. If you are coming to this hotel to party, great! But this is not the place for a good night’s sleep. At least not on the weekend.

Let me start by saying I have an unnatural affinity to Hotel Lafayette. It’s inexplicable, but I surmise it’s the result of moving here after a HORRIBLE stay at the Adam’s Mark last year. Since I know I’m already biased I’ll make a pros and cons list and let you decide for yourself:
Pros:
–Really gorgeous and stylish rooms
–Super cool fire places in each room (the fire changes color! with a remote!)
–great downtown location (I travel for business)
–friendly staff
–Pam Am Bar and Grill downstairs is a HUGE plus (downtown is not great for food)
–the bed is ½ dreams, ½ rainbows, 100% awesome
–did I mention how bad the Adam’s Mark was?
–old school charm, like the old elevator floor indicator and beautiful architecture
–nice historical display of a lady architect in the stairways. cool, feminist, AND local pride.
Cons:
–There were hairs in my shower (I’ve stayed 3 times now and this is the first time it wasn’t pristine)
–I don’t like the «open concept» bathroom — I want the door to click shut (not slide) and I want a shower curtain (the water gets everywhere)
–My house keeping didn’t come today (again, this is unusual — my other 2 stays were 100% great)
–parking is valet and it’s a rip off — on the other hand there are several cheap –pay-​to-​park spots within a block, so if you walk a few feet this isn’t an issue
–no fridge in the room
–breakfast — included but wack. it’s some not appetizing fruits, bad coffee, and –good muffins in this dark corner. Honestly this is the one area where I really feel they should improve yesterday. A girl’s gotta eat. They do have a nice coffee bar in the lobby but it doesn’t open til 8:00 and you need to pay extra for those drinks.
I totally get why these cons might turn someone off, but I have to say — I travel around the state for work and I LOVE this hotel. I get excited to come to Buffalo just because I get to stay here. If it’s irrational, fine, so be it. But I really like it here, so there.
side note — there are other businesses (beauty salon, flower shop, bakery…) housed on the ground floor and they have nice party rooms. This looks like a great place to get married. Just sayin.

Why don’t we have spots like this in the Greater Toronto Area? Hotel At The Lafayette was the setting for an epic couple of days in Buffalo as I visited with a Unilocal buddy from Chicago.
The hotel itself is unassuming from the outside, but once inside the high ceilings and gorgeous fixtures in this hotels lobby were enough to turn my head skyward and walk awkwardly into people and fixed objects.
Upon our arrival there was a wedding reception beginning in the lobby (which doubles as a bar space with unique seating). We learned that this was only the waiting area where guests of the wedding could grab a couple of drinks before going into one of three banquet halls at the hotels rear.
Not being from the area we relied heavily on the combined expertise of the hotel concierge and out Unilocal mobile app to find out about where to go. However, Unilocal app be dammed the staff at the Laf’ were on top of their game, dropping knowledge like College Professors (I’m a poet in my spare time). Totally won me over from check-​in to check-​out. One of the front desk staff was so friendly he even wanted to come party with us, but had to work… damn! We’ll get you next time my dude!
All this paled in comparison to the condo we were given as out room. Literally, in Toronto $ 2500/​month rent wouldn’t get you ½ of what we had for a hotel room. Full kitchen (with island), a great room for dining AND living space (complete with the comfiest pull out couch I’ve ever slept on), a 3 piece bathroom big enough for 4 people to be in at the same time and a massive bedroom (with King sized bed).
Drawbacks: Parking was FREE but in an open access lot behind the hotel (didn’t leave me feeling too safe), Television options were kinda limited (no in room rental options), and location was a tad odd to get to if you’re from out of town (use a GPS).
In terms of boutique hotels this is by far one of my all time faves and next time I’m in Buffalo I’m staying here for sure.

I was really looking forward to my stay at The Lafayette, as I typically enjoy the unique experience and hospitality that a non-​chain hotel is able to offer. Unfortunately my experience was definitely unique, but not in a good way.
It started out fine enough: the hotel itself is beautiful and my check-​in went smoothly. I got settled into my room, which was also very nice, and then I went downstairs to have some dinner and drinks at Mike A’s. The food was phenomenal, the drink selection was exceptional, and the bartender was friendly and attentive — I was having a great time.
It was after dinner, when I went to the front desk to ask for a 7am wake-​up call that things started going slightly downwards. It was a different employee from when I had checked in, and this woman acted like she was being put out over my simple request. Not a big deal, but I found it a little out of line with the image that I feel this hotel is probably trying to project.
Anyway, my room was quiet, the bed was comfortable, and I feel asleep easily. Then at 6pm, an alarm started going off in my room. I didn’t set anything, so I wondered if this was my wake-​up call, but an hour early. I called down to the front desk to check on this and got the same woman who had taken my request earlier. I figured that she would tell me that there was either a mix up with the wake-​up call time or that an alarm was accidentally left set, but instead I got this weirdness: «there is an electrical problem or something with one or two of the rooms that they probably didn’t tell you about. It makes thing happen like the phones ringing for no reason, but they can’t figure it out. It’s like there is a ghost in there». WHY WOULD YOU SAY THIS TO A CUSTOMER?! I don’t know if I was more concerned about possible electrical problems or being in a haunted room.
After this, I had a hard time getting back to sleep. I decided to call down and set my wake up call for a little later, but after making multiple attempts, I couldn’t reach anyone at the front desk and gave up. I tried to perk up with a shower, but the shampoo lever was broken and I found too much hair that did not belong to me for my comfort. Luckily the complementary breakfast buffet was outstanding, and included coffee, so a little bit of my crankiness subsided before I had to head out to my conference.
My check-​out was perfunctory, with no «thank you for staying with us» or «how was your stay». I was instructed to stand outside and my car would be brought around to me. After standing in the cold for 5 minutes, the front-​desk person came outside after me and said that they needed my ticket if I wanted my car. Clearly that makes sense, but it’s the little touches like asking for someone’s ticket before you send them outside (or not telling them that they are in a haunted room) that makes the difference in a customer’s stay.
This is a beautiful hotel, and if they can get their customer service up to par, it will be a wonderful place to stay. I just hope that they do so before more people have — and discuss — experiences like mine. I will probably be back in Buffalo within the next few months, but it is unlikely that I would choose to spend my money here anytime in the near future.

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn would have loved this hotel. The 2 nights I stayed there were four weddings in house, a bumpin’ lobby bar, and the Chippewa Street strip was a 10 minute walk with all sorts of bar options. I didn’t get to see much of Buffalo, but I’d bet this is one of the best locations if you’re looking to explore some of the nightlife.
The rooms are huge and feel more like newly renovated condos than they do a hotel. Equip with a huge fridge, a pull out couch, and two lounge chairs it makes for a pretty comfy stay if you’ve got more than one person.
The staff was super nice and accommodating from booking to check out and the continental breakfast was also a nice touch. There’s valet parking, but you can self for free about a block away.
The only negative is that they don’t have an entertainment system that you can rent movies on which is kind of weird for a hotel. Oh well, X-​Men origins was on FX and that did the trick.

There’s no question that they did an amazing job with this building and it is an amazing asset to the city. The regular rooms are beautifully and modernly designed and decorated. They have a great free pastry spread in the morning courtesy of Butterwoods (known to be one of the best bakeries in the area). Another positive, their toiletries are really top notch. Also, their beds are ridiculously comfortable.
Unfortunately, my rating must be low based on my recent stay in one of their suites.
First of all, their prices are really reasonable. The suite was a two bedroom, two bathroom, fully equipped kitchen with pull out couch and plenty of extra room. It was the size of a regular city apartment.
Unfortunately, the quality was just not there. I am going to assume that they aren’t done and/​or are working out quirks. I hope so …
There were absolutely zero decorations in the suite. No paintings, no wall art, just bare empty, cold walls.
The wall in/​behind one of the kitchen cupboards was completely busted in. How did that even happen?
There were four (yes FOUR) ant traps in the kitchen. Thankfully, no ants were visible but four ant traps is not a good sign.
In the freezer there were bags of soiled ice which we did not bring.
The A/​C was not working — to their credit, they reduced our rate when we complained. It was very hot and uncomfortable.
There are no black out curtains — I never use them in hotels anyway because I like to wake up to the sun, but some people like to keep it dark so they can sleep in. I’ve never seen a hotel without curtains.
When I closed one of the bathroom doors (not forcefully), the panel under the bathtub fell off.
No papers — not even in the lobby. The only newspaper I saw was one from the previous day. Maybe this is an unreasonable expectation for a boutique hotel, I don’t claim to be an expert.
I hate to give a poor review but because I love this building so much. I hope they are made aware of these issues and address them.